Rachel Cohen heads for Playtime in Edinburgh

London-based saxophonist Rachael Cohen is among the featured musicians in the latest series of Edinburgh's popular Playtime jazz sessions, which begins this Thursday. Cohen, whose debut album for Michael Janisch's Whirlwind Recordings, Halftime, earned enthusiastic reviews and was a Mojo magazine jazz album of the month, will join Playtime regulars, saxophonist Martin Kershaw, guitarist Graeme Stephen, bassist Mario Caribe and drummer Tom Bancroft on Thursday, 9 March in the Outhouse, the loft space where the resident quartet created a regular opportunity to experiment and pay tribute to jazz's major figures.

The Birmingham Conservatoire trained Cohen will be back in the Scottish capital to appear in a special homecoming concert at the Queen's Hall on Friday 10 March featuring fellow former students at the City of Edinburgh Music School and to take workshops at her alma mater, and Martin Kershaw, who was her tutor at the music school, invited her to make her Playtime debut to take advantage of a rare trip back.

Also scheduled to appear for Playtime are Trio AAB guitarist Kevin Mackenzie, who will lead a celebration of the music of John Coltrane on Thursday 23 February to mark the 15th year since the great saxophonist's death, and pianist Peter Johnstone. Johnstone, a former Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year and winner, with Glasgow quartet Square One, of the Peter Whittingham Jazz Award 2015, recently joined saxophonist Tommy Smith's new quartet and will lead a Playtime homage to Herbie Hancock on Thursday 23 March.